For full-time classes, I break the day into 6 1-hour sessions. With breaks between sessions and for lunch, that makes for an 8-hour day. At the start of each day I outline the intended plan of attack for that day. At day's end, I outline the following day's plan. While I do have a tried and proven approach to this kind of seminar, I am able and prepared to adjust the agenda "on the fly" at any time based on mutual agreement with the majority of the class or their management, as appropriate. I make myself available during breaks and at the end of each day to handle questions.

I strongly encourage class interaction and always start out each session by asking if there are any questions. I make every attempt to have all questions answered as soon as possible and, in any event, before I leave at the end of the course. I am also prepared to handle questions beyond the end of the course as part of my "after-sales service".

Teaching Requirements

I teach using actual (or electronic versions of) overhead transparencies, which are typeset directly from the text (which is a book, not a collection of slides). As well as needing an overhead transparency (or PC screen) projector, I require a white board or similar.

Most classes involve substantial lab time making access to terminals or PCs necessary. Ideally, the terminals should be in the training room.

Teaching Style

I teach by example, using small fragments of code designed with care to highlight the topic, but without unnecessary distraction. Once the syntax is made clear, I encourage a discussion of how the construct might be applied. I also make considerable mention of programming style and management issues as well as portability considerations, as the need arises.

Hardware and Operating System Issues

Many of my courses are not system-specific, and I have successfully taught them using a number of different platforms. In my 30+ years in computing, I have used numerous systems, and I have no doubt that given a user manual and a modern compiler, or a short tutorial, I could teach my classes on pretty much any system having the necessary software.

Materials

I have produced all of my own materials. I either use one of my textbooks or one of my unpublished manuscripts. I have a full typesetting facility with cross-reference capability and can produce quality course handouts. I believe in providing course materials that students can use after the class ends rather than simply giving them notes and copies of terse transparencies.Each student gets a typeset hard-copy of the course book, plus an electronic copy for searching. They also get all the source code to examples in the book, and all the lab solution files.

Location

I have no travel restrictions, either for location or duration, domestic or international.

Fees

My standard pricing involves various discounts based on the number of students. If clients have their own copy facility, they can duplicate the materials in-house if they so chose, thereby reducing the price. Contact me for details.

Licensing

A number of my courses are available for licensing. This enables training companies to get started in these areas without having to produce their own materials. It also allows larger organizations to have more control of their training schedule and costs. Contact me for details.

Schedule

Most training companies only want to teach classes full-time and to keep their trainers very busy with new jobs. I, on the other hand, only need to keep myself busy, and then often less than full-time; I have columns to write, standards meetings to attend, and a number of personal projects needing attention.

I've found that clients are often interested in having a flexible training schedule. For example, if their people can attend a 4–5-day class part-time over two or three weeks, their people are not absent from their jobs for days at a time, and they get a chance to think a lot more about, and absorb, the material being presented. I have also taught a number of evening classes. Weekend classes are also possible. And because teaching in my local area doesn't involve out-of-town travel, I'm willing to entertain doing sessions as short as a half day at a time. Some companies really don't need a full-blown course; a few short informal seminar or consulting sessions might suffice instead.